# Instructions and Files
> Part of the NocoDB documentation (Agents). Index of all pages: https://nocodb.com/llms.txt. Any docs page is available as Markdown by adding `.md` to its URL.
URL: https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/instructions
Last updated: 2026-10-29
Write the instructions of a NocoDB agent as a brief for a teammate, mention tables and documents with @, and attach files that the agent reads on every run.
Change the instructions of [Deal watcher] so it also flags deals with no next step
Rename [Untitled agent] to [Support triage]
Add a starter prompt to [Answer bot]: [Which plans include SSO?]
The instructions of a NocoDB agent tell it what its job is, which data to use, and how to answer. The agent reads the instructions at the start of every run. You can also attach files, for example a price list or a style guide. The agent reads the files on every run too.
## Before you begin
* To change the instructions or the files, you need the **Creator** role or higher in the project.
* Other members can open the agent settings, but they can only read them.
## Edit the instructions
1. Open the agent.
2. In the top bar, click **Settings**. The **Agent settings** open at **Agent & Instructions**.
3. Change the **Name**, if necessary.
4. Write the instructions in the editor.
NocoDB saves the instructions automatically. The changes apply from the next run.
The first instructions of an agent depend on how you created it:
| Created with | First instructions |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Create manually** | None. Write them yourself. |
| **Set up by describing** | The job that you described in the setup chat. |
| **Pick a template** | The job of the template. |
| [Set up a coding agent](/docs/agents/coding-agent#set-up-a-coding-agent) | Instructions to pick up an issue. The agent reproduces it with a test that fails, fixes it and runs the tests and lint. Then it opens a pull request that links the issue. |
Change the first instructions to match the job of your agent.
## Mention items with @
In the instructions editor, type `@` to mention an item of the project. The agent then knows exactly which item you mean. You can mention:
* Tables and views
* Documents and dashboards
* Workflows and scripts
* Classic apps and their pages
* Members
* Integrations
* The files of the agent
## Write good instructions
Write the instructions as you would brief a new teammate. Short, concrete instructions give better results than long, general ones.
| Include | Example |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **The job** | "You triage new support requests." |
| **The data** | "New requests arrive in @Requests. Customers are in @Customers." |
| **What to do** | "Set Priority to High when the customer is on the Enterprise plan. Assign the request to the owner of the account." |
| **What to give back** | "Reply with one line for each request: its ID, the priority and the owner." |
| **What not to do** | "Do not delete records. Do not change requests that already have an owner." |
When an agent runs on a [trigger](/docs/agents/triggers), its last reply is what NocoDB sends to the [results](/docs/agents/triggers#choose-where-results-go) destination. Describe that reply in the instructions, for example "Reply with a bulleted list of stale deals and their owners". You do not have to tell the agent how to send it.
## Files
Files give the agent reference material that is not in your tables, for example a price list, a policy or a brand guide. The agent reads its files on every run.
### Add files
1. In the **Agent & Instructions** section, scroll to **Files**.
2. Drag files to the box, or click **browse**.
3. If you clicked **browse**, select the files.
NocoDB also adds a chip for each new file to the instructions, at the cursor or at the end of the text. Move the chip to the sentence where the agent uses the file.
You can also drop a file into the instructions editor. NocoDB then adds it to **Files** and puts its chip where you dropped it.
NocoDB saves the files automatically. The changes apply from the next run.
To download or remove a file, use the buttons in its row. When you remove a file, NocoDB also removes its chips from the instructions.
### Supported files
Agent files have these limits:
| Item | Limit |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **File types** | PDF, Word (DOC, DOCX), Excel (XLS, XLSX), CSV, TSV, text (TXT, MD, JSON) and images (PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, WEBP) |
| **File size** | Up to 20 MB for each file |
| **Number of files** | Up to 20 files for each agent |
File names are unique in an agent. When you add a file with a name that exists, NocoDB adds a number to the new name, for example `prices (2).pdf`.
## Good to know
* Do not put passwords or API keys in the instructions or the files. The AI model of the agent reads them. For a coding agent, keep secrets in the [environment and secrets](/docs/agents/machines#environment-and-secrets) of its machine.
* To give the agent access to data, set [Tools and access](/docs/agents/tools-and-access). Instructions alone do not give access.
* [Skills](/docs/agents/skills) are reusable instructions that several agents can share.
## Related
* [Tools and access](/docs/agents/tools-and-access)
* [Triggers and results](/docs/agents/triggers)
* [Skills](/docs/agents/skills)
---
## Related pages
- [Agents](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents.md): NocoDB agents are AI agents that work in a project: they read and change your tables, documents and code, answer in chat, and run on their own on a trigger.
- [AI Agents](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/ai-agents.md): NocoDB is a no-code AI agent builder for business: AI agents that work on your tables and documents, answer in chat, and run agentic workflows on triggers.
- [Create an AI Agent](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/create-agent.md): How to create an AI agent in NocoDB: describe the job in a setup chat or pick a template, then review and turn it on. NocoAI can also build it.
- [AI Agent Use Cases and Templates](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/use-cases.md): AI agent use cases and examples for sales, customer service, marketing, operations and project management: 13 NocoDB templates to start from.
- [Tools and Access](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/tools-and-access.md): Set the AI agent tools of a NocoDB agent: what it can read and change in tables, records, documents and the web, its project role and its managed machine.
- [AI Agent Skills](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/skills.md): Turn on AI agent skills in NocoDB: reusable instructions from the project, workspace or organization catalog that an agent loads when a task needs them.
- [Triggers and Results](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/triggers.md): Build an AI agent workflow in NocoDB with triggers: a schedule, record changes, comments, forms or webhooks. Send the results to chat, email or Slack.
- [Channels](https://nocodb.com/docs/agents/channels.md): Connect a NocoDB agent to a Telegram channel so people can message it outside NocoDB, and choose which messages it answers and who can reach it.